Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors rise to Britain’s defense by taking to the skies… not aboard aircraft but atop the mighty backs of fighting dragons.
When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes its precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Capt. Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future — and an … and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire.
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After reading Uprooted, which I LOVED, I was desperate for more Naomi Novik but hesitant to pick up this series. It had dragons, yes, but it was an alternate history, not a pure fantasy like Uprooted. I decided to give it a chance, and I’m so happy that I did, because it’s wonderful. I haven’t read any of the others in this series yet because I’m …
Buddy read His Majesty’s Dragon with @carlyn!
Uprooted was one of my top reads of 2015 — but I didn’t pick Novik’s debut novel, HMD, until it went on sale. Why? Well, Uprooted featured a bunch of my favorite tropes (coming of age, fairy tale retelling, court politics) and HMD didn’t have any of that as far as I could tell. And there are only so …
Someone recommended this book to me, and I said, “Talking Dragons? What?” I read it anyway and then immediately read the next 8. I loved them all, and I never thought alternative history would ever have been that interesting.
Bardugo.Novik.
Novik. Bardugo.
Damn.
I have been in a funk for quite a while, starting and discarding novels. Nothing just seemed to latch on.
Then, along came a dragon.
Swept off my feet. I love the world building (that is what them fantasy nuts people call it, is it not?). And the way the surprises just kept on coming. Damn.
I am a parent, …
This would make such a cool movie! I think I read somewhere that it had been optioned by someone famous. Get to it! In an alternate world, during the Napoleonic wars, an officer of the Royal Navy can befriend a new-hatched dragon, and if all goes well, (you know, by means of Lorenz-style imprinting,)become her or his captain, riding the dragons …
Dragons and the Napoleonic war? Yes, please! This book is utterly absorbing with great world building and a storyline unlike anything I’ve ever found before. Think historical fiction with magic!
I love this entire series and this is the book that kicked it off. Novik’s alt-history imagining of a Napoleonic War that includes one extra bit: Dragons. ‘His Majesty’s Dragon’ kicks off an epic story navigating politics, prejudices, love and war. The bond of brotherhood that forms between the MC and an extraordinary dragon carries them through …
Great start to a fantastic series. If you can buy into the idea of dragons fighting in the Napoleonic wars you’ll love the books. Well written and action packed.
Horatio Hornblower with dragons.
Temeraire is such a wonderful dragon. He’s loving, caring, shrewd, intelligent. I really enjoyed entering a time when there were dragons.
This is in the alternate history vein. The story grabs you..the scene of the naval battle is described in such detail that Novik brings you there, it’s so vivid. This is the first in a series.
This first book of the Temeraire series is a wonderful introduction to the fantastic world created by Naomi Novik in which dragons are a commonplace fixture in normal life. Told from the point of view of William Laurence, a British naval captain, who, like his compatriots, observes excruciatingly correct rules of honor and comportment. This adds …
When I grabbed this book off the shelf at my library, I truly wasn’t sure what to think. But, hello, dragons? I also LOVED Uprooted by Novick, so I was delighted to have another clearly fantastical premise.
Temeraire didn’t disappoint. Although the book moves a bit more slowly than I expected at first, once I adjusted to it, I fell in …
If you enjoy Victorian age settings and would like a fantasy twist, try this series. It has enough reality to make it plausible. The talking dragons are each individuals with their own strengths and preferences. Their drivers and crew conduct themselves in an honorable way for the most part. There are children and teens who are learning the …
This was the second time I read this book and I enjoyed it just as much as the for the first time.
Dragons have always been my favourite creatures. They are such amazing and beautiful creatures. I’ve read lots of books about them, seen lots of movies and TV series with them and I’ve always watched them with wide eyed, awed. In some stories …
What a great read. I sometimes shift over to fantasy as a way to cleanse the palette much like ginger in a sushi restaurant and this one was excellent for that purpose. The writing craft is above average. The author does a brilliant job creating a world with dragons. What I liked was that she didn’t start from the beginning in how the dragons came …
This book should come with a caution. This is an animal story and if the use of animals in war bothers you, you should pass on this one. The author brings up several different moral issues for the reader to mull over. It is very well written with delightful characters, but it is easy to start wondering about all the horses and dogs used in war …
I loved all the Temeraire books. Couldn’t put any of them down.
Naomi Novik nails it with this story. It’s effortless to forget her characters are fictional, even though a few of them are dragons. I love that the characters’ experiences shape their perception in the most believable way and in the midst of an exciting story that builds to a truly satisfying resolution.
If you like dragons and want to imagine yourself riding one, read this book. Great story and compelling characters.